Is Brad Culpepper The Greatest Pro Athlete in Survivor History?

David Gonos 02:08 pm, May 25th, 2017

On May 31, 2000, Survivor premiered on American televisions, changing the landscape of TV programming, and instituting a new reality TV show era in pop culture. The 34th season of the show, Survivor: Game Changers, finished Wednesday night, and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive lineman Brad Culpepper finished as the runner-up!

Pro athletes on Survivor isn’t anything new, dating all the way back to the show’s 11th season, Survivor: Guatemala, when former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Gary Hogeboom competed in the reality show. There have also been actors and other prominent people that have played in the reality competition series, but the pro athletes on Survivor seem to have a leg up, in that their profession directly helps them in endurance and in many of the competitions.

But many other competitors want to get rid of those pro athletes for that reason, and because they assume pro athletes still have money from their big contracts during their brief playing careers.

So who was the greatest athlete in Survivor history? Of course, without playing these people against each other in the same season, we might never know. But we can look at their finishes in each season, to see where they placed, and compare them indirectly in that way!

Who Was the Greatest Pro Athlete in Survivor History?

Before we get into the list, we’re letting you know now that we don’t count Ethan Zohn, who won Survivor: Africa in the third season of the series back in 2001. You have to have been involved in U.S. pro sports in my opinion because I’m a jerk. We’re also not counting Ashley Massaro, a former pro wrestler that played on Survivor: China in 2007, and we don’t count eSports gamer Ken Hoang, from 2008’s Survivor: Gabon. Finally, I’m not counting Miami Marlins President David Samson, since he wasn’t an athlete – and was the first voted off of Survivor: Cagayan, anyway!

Jimmy Johnson, Survivor: Nicaragua (Placed 18th) -- 2010

While Johnson wasn’t necessarily a pro athlete, he was a very good college athlete, and his NCAA and NFL coaching record gained him eligibility on this list!

Probably the most famous sports personality to ever appear on the show, the former Super Bowl-winning head coach was a marked man in his season. But he just wanted to share in the experience, knowing he couldn’t win, but he pled his case that since no one would ever want to give him the $1 million prize, they should take him to the end as a goat. He was the third person voted off, and he said he was relatively miserable during the show. It was the “most stressful time I've ever gone through in my life,” he said.

And that includes his final years in Dallas with owner/frenemy Jerry Jones!

Photo Credit: CBS Photo Archive, Getty Images

John Rocker, Survivor: San Juan del Sur (Placed 16th) – 2014

If Jimmy Johnson was one of the most beloved pro athletes to play on Survivor, then Rocker was probably the most hated, mostly because of his controversial/racist/xenophobic/homophobic statements in Sports Illustrated back in 1999.

HisSurvivor experience wasn’t great either, as some cast members pointed out his racial statements in the past, which helped get him become the third person voted out. It also didn’t help that he was a big, strong athlete with a loud mouth.

Photo Credit: CBS Photo Archive, Getty Images

Cliff Robinson, Survivor: Cagayan (Placed 14th) -- 2014

Uncle Cliffy! He played 19 seasons in the NBA, mostly with the Portland Trailblazers (losing to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in the 1992 NBA Finals) and Phoenix Suns.

Robinson didn’t get a ton of air time, and he was the fifth player voted out of the Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty season. (He was on the Brawn side.)

Photo Credit: CBS Photo Archive, Getty Images

Steve Wright, Survivor: Redemption Island (Placed 10th) -- 2011

Wright is probably one of the least-known pro athletes to make it on Survivor, as he was an offensive linemen in the ‘80s, for the Colts, Cowboys and Raiders.

His Survivor season came near San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, which also happened to have returning players Rob Mariano and Russell Hantz. If only Wright played for the New England Patriots, maybe Mariano would’ve protected him!

Photo Credit: CBS Photo Archive, Getty Images

Jeff Kent, Survivor: Philippines (Placed 10th) -- 2012

Kent is probably the most successful pro athlete to ever appear on Survivor, even though he only lasted midway on his season. Kent was a second baseman for six different MLB teams in the ‘90s and ‘00s, over 17 major-league seasons, most notably with the Mets, Giants and Dodgers. He was a five-time All-Star and the National League MVP in 2000 with the Giants.

On the first episode of his Survivor season, Kent jumped off the ship onto a raft and injured his knee when his leg went awkwardly through the slats. The injury impeded him during his time on the island, but his team did win six challenges with him!

Photo Credit: CBS Photo Archive, Getty Images

Scot Pollard, Survivor: Kaoh Rong (Placed 8th) -- 2016

Pollard played 11 NBA seasons as a center with five different teams, most notably, the Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers. In his final NBA season, he won a championship as a backup center for the Boston Celtics in 2008.

On Survivor, Pollard became a bully, for the most part, alongside his bully alliance members. This season was the second to split the tribes up into “Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty” – and he was not on the Brains or Beauty tribes!

True to form, the Brawn Tribe bullied their way toward the middle portion of the season, and he became the fourth jury member.

Photo Credit: CBS Photo Archive, Getty Images

Tyler Fredrickson, Survivor: Worlds Apart (Placed 7th) -- 2015

Former kicker Tyler Fredrickson played in three NFL preseason games after kicking for the University of California. He didn’t play in a regular season NFL game, but he did go on to play in the Arena Football League. He kicked the game-winning field goal for Cal against No. 3 USC one year, too!

Photo Credit: CBS Photo Archive, Getty Images

Gary Hogeboom, Survivor: Guatemala (Placed 7th) -- 2005

Hogeboom was an NFL quarterback for 11 seasons in the ‘80s, most notably with the Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts. In college, at Central Michigan, he was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Year in 1979 before becoming a fifth-round pick in the 1980 NFL Draft.

Hogeboom was really the first pro athlete to be on the show, but he worked hard at lying to keep the other players from knowing who he was or what his real profession used to be. Unfortunately for him, he was figured out immediately by a female sports caster that happened to be on the show, Danni Boatwright, but they eventually bonded in an alliance that helped him place seventh, and helped her win the whole season.

Photo Credit: CBS Photo Archive, Getty Images

Crystal Cox, Survivor: Gabon (Placed 6th) -- 2008

Cox was a track and field athlete that won a gold medal in the women’s 4x400-meter relay at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics. Success!

Then she appeared on Survivor a few years later, and finished as the best pro athlete in Survivor history – until Culpepper’s second season in 2017. Success!

In 2010, Cox’s gold medal was later stripped from her, but not her teammates, because she admitted to using anabolic steroids from 2001 to 2004. Failure!

Crystal Cox (right) Photo Credit: Jeff Haynes, Getty Images

Brad Culpepper, Survivor: Mamanuca Islands (Placed 2nd) -- 2017

Culpepper played defensive line for the Florida Gators, and later for the Buccaneers, alongside Warren Sapp in the ‘90s. He has 34 career sacks in the NFL, and a few more from his Survivor career!

His first appearance on Survivor:
Blood vs. Water was with his wife, Monica Culpepper, and it was apparent through the whole season that his efforts were directly in hopes of trying to further her game than his own. He finished 15th that season in 2013.

In 2017, the Game Changers season aired, from the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji. He made the finals in his second season, and placed second to Officer Sarah.

Jimmy Johnson, Survivor: Nicaragua (Placed 18th) -- 2010

While Johnson wasn’t necessarily a pro athlete, he was a very good college athlete, and his NCAA and NFL coaching record gained him eligibility on this list!

Probably the most famous sports personality to ever appear on the show, the former Super Bowl-winning head coach was a marked man in his season. But he just wanted to share in the experience, knowing he couldn’t win, but he pled his case that since no one would ever want to give him the $1 million prize, they should take him to the end as a goat. He was the third person voted off, and he said he was relatively miserable during the show. It was the “most stressful time I've ever gone through in my life,” he said.

And that includes his final years in Dallas with owner/frenemy Jerry Jones!

Photo Credit: CBS Photo Archive, Getty Images

2/10

John Rocker, Survivor: San Juan del Sur (Placed 16th) – 2014

If Jimmy Johnson was one of the most beloved pro athletes to play on Survivor, then Rocker was probably the most hated, mostly because of his controversial/racist/xenophobic/homophobic statements in Sports Illustrated back in 1999.

HisSurvivor experience wasn’t great either, as some cast members pointed out his racial statements in the past, which helped get him become the third person voted out. It also didn’t help that he was a big, strong athlete with a loud mouth.

Photo Credit: CBS Photo Archive, Getty Images

3/10

Cliff Robinson, Survivor: Cagayan (Placed 14th) -- 2014

Uncle Cliffy! He played 19 seasons in the NBA, mostly with the Portland Trailblazers (losing to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in the 1992 NBA Finals) and Phoenix Suns.

Robinson didn’t get a ton of air time, and he was the fifth player voted out of the Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty season. (He was on the Brawn side.)

Photo Credit: CBS Photo Archive, Getty Images

4/10

Steve Wright, Survivor: Redemption Island (Placed 10th) -- 2011

Wright is probably one of the least-known pro athletes to make it on Survivor, as he was an offensive linemen in the ‘80s, for the Colts, Cowboys and Raiders.

His Survivor season came near San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, which also happened to have returning players Rob Mariano and Russell Hantz. If only Wright played for the New England Patriots, maybe Mariano would’ve protected him!

Photo Credit: CBS Photo Archive, Getty Images

5/10

Jeff Kent, Survivor: Philippines (Placed 10th) -- 2012

Kent is probably the most successful pro athlete to ever appear on Survivor, even though he only lasted midway on his season. Kent was a second baseman for six different MLB teams in the ‘90s and ‘00s, over 17 major-league seasons, most notably with the Mets, Giants and Dodgers. He was a five-time All-Star and the National League MVP in 2000 with the Giants.

On the first episode of his Survivor season, Kent jumped off the ship onto a raft and injured his knee when his leg went awkwardly through the slats. The injury impeded him during his time on the island, but his team did win six challenges with him!

Photo Credit: CBS Photo Archive, Getty Images

6/10

Scot Pollard, Survivor: Kaoh Rong (Placed 8th) -- 2016

Pollard played 11 NBA seasons as a center with five different teams, most notably, the Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers. In his final NBA season, he won a championship as a backup center for the Boston Celtics in 2008.

On Survivor, Pollard became a bully, for the most part, alongside his bully alliance members. This season was the second to split the tribes up into “Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty” – and he was not on the Brains or Beauty tribes!

True to form, the Brawn Tribe bullied their way toward the middle portion of the season, and he became the fourth jury member.

Photo Credit: CBS Photo Archive, Getty Images

7/10

Tyler Fredrickson, Survivor: Worlds Apart (Placed 7th) -- 2015

Former kicker Tyler Fredrickson played in three NFL preseason games after kicking for the University of California. He didn’t play in a regular season NFL game, but he did go on to play in the Arena Football League. He kicked the game-winning field goal for Cal against No. 3 USC one year, too!

Photo Credit: CBS Photo Archive, Getty Images

8/10

Gary Hogeboom, Survivor: Guatemala (Placed 7th) -- 2005

Hogeboom was an NFL quarterback for 11 seasons in the ‘80s, most notably with the Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts. In college, at Central Michigan, he was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Year in 1979 before becoming a fifth-round pick in the 1980 NFL Draft.

Hogeboom was really the first pro athlete to be on the show, but he worked hard at lying to keep the other players from knowing who he was or what his real profession used to be. Unfortunately for him, he was figured out immediately by a female sports caster that happened to be on the show, Danni Boatwright, but they eventually bonded in an alliance that helped him place seventh, and helped her win the whole season.

Photo Credit: CBS Photo Archive, Getty Images

9/10

Crystal Cox, Survivor: Gabon (Placed 6th) -- 2008

Cox was a track and field athlete that won a gold medal in the women’s 4x400-meter relay at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics. Success!

Then she appeared on Survivor a few years later, and finished as the best pro athlete in Survivor history – until Culpepper’s second season in 2017. Success!

In 2010, Cox’s gold medal was later stripped from her, but not her teammates, because she admitted to using anabolic steroids from 2001 to 2004. Failure!

Crystal Cox (right) Photo Credit: Jeff Haynes, Getty Images

10/10

Brad Culpepper, Survivor: Mamanuca Islands (Placed 2nd) -- 2017

Culpepper played defensive line for the Florida Gators, and later for the Buccaneers, alongside Warren Sapp in the ‘90s. He has 34 career sacks in the NFL, and a few more from his Survivor career!

His first appearance on Survivor:
Blood vs. Water was with his wife, Monica Culpepper, and it was apparent through the whole season that his efforts were directly in hopes of trying to further her game than his own. He finished 15th that season in 2013.

In 2017, the Game Changers season aired, from the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji. He made the finals in his second season, and placed second to Officer Sarah.